Fishing in Mexico

A CONAPESCA licence is required for every person aboard a fishing vessel, whether they fish or not. Shore fishing needs no licence.

7 researched spots — 5 Saltwater, 2 Freshwater.

Licences and permits in Mexico

Mexican sport fishing permits come from CONAPESCA, the national aquaculture and fisheries commission, and the rules are refreshingly explicit: permits are issued to natural persons whether Mexican or foreign, and each is individual, non-extendable and non-transferable. You can buy them for a day, a week, a month or a year, which suits everything from an afternoon panga trip to a season. A permit is required to fish recreationally from a vessel or underwater, and fishing aboard a vessel also brings in the permits required under the federal duties law — so on a charter, confirm what the operator holds and what you are expected to hold yourself before leaving the dock, since the permit is personal to you rather than to the boat. Marine protected areas and national parks impose separate access rules that a CONAPESCA permit does not satisfy on its own.

When to fish in Mexico

Mexico's Pacific and Caribbean coasts run different calendars, and the coastal spots follow those calendars. On the Baja side, Cabo San Lucas fishes striped marlin from October through June, with tuna and dorado in summer and early mornings best; La Paz and Espíritu Santo turn on roosterfish from May to October, hunted along the beaches at dawn. On the Caribbean side, Ascension Bay holds permit year-round — one of the few places that can be said of — with tarpon from March to September, and bright calm mornings the ideal. That spread means Mexico is close to a year-round destination, provided you move between coasts rather than expecting one to deliver everything.

What the fishing is like

The seven published Mexican spots divide into flats, blue water and bass lakes. Ascension Bay in Quintana Roo and the Campeche flats are the Caribbean and Gulf shallows: Ascension is advanced fishing for bonefish, permit and tarpon inside the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve, where fishing runs catch-and-release through licensed guides and independent access is restricted, while Campeche is intermediate water full of juvenile tarpon. Cabo San Lucas is intermediate offshore fishing for striped marlin, dorado and yellowfin tuna, and La Paz and Loreto are Sea of Cortez inshore and island water for roosterfish, dorado and yellowtail, La Paz inside a national park with protected zones. Inland, Lake El Salto and Lake Baccarac in Sinaloa are reservoirs for trophy largemouth bass. Roosterfish are a release fishery in Mexico, which is worth knowing before booking a trip built around them.

Guides covering Mexico

  • Where to fish if you have never fished — Most of what gets written about these destinations assumes you already fish. This is the opposite list — real places, drawn straight from AnglerDeck's own spot pages, that are genuinely built for a first trip, plus a short list of what to save for later.
  • A year of fishing seasons, by country — Nineteen countries don't share one calendar — half run on the northern hemisphere's clock, some on the tropics' wet and dry seasons, a few on their own statutory closures entirely. This lays the year out month by month, so a trip gets planned around when a country actually fishes well, not just when it's convenient to fly.

Species you can target

  • bonefish
  • cabrilla
  • dolphinfish
  • jack crevalle
  • largemouth bass
  • permit
  • roosterfish
  • snook
  • striped marlin
  • tarpon
  • tilapia
  • yellowfin tuna
  • yellowtail

Fishing spots in Mexico

  • Cabo San Lucas — Baja California Sur. Saltwater, Intermediate. Target species: striped marlin, dolphinfish, yellowfin tuna.
  • La Paz & Espíritu Santo — Baja California Sur. Saltwater, Advanced. Target species: roosterfish, dolphinfish, yellowtail.
  • Ascension Bay — Quintana Roo. Saltwater, Advanced. Target species: bonefish, permit, tarpon.
  • Lake El Salto — Sinaloa. Freshwater, Beginner. Target species: largemouth bass, tilapia.
  • Lake Baccarac — Sinaloa. Freshwater, Intermediate. Target species: largemouth bass, tilapia.
  • Campeche Tarpon Flats — Campeche. Saltwater, Intermediate. Target species: tarpon, snook, jack crevalle.
  • Loreto — Baja California Sur. Saltwater, Intermediate. Target species: yellowtail, dolphinfish, cabrilla.

Official sources

Licence requirements and closed seasons change regularly. Always confirm with the relevant fisheries authority before you fish — each spot page links to its source.

Fishing regulations and licences by country · Fishing guides · View the fishing map